Five Nights at Freddy's is a 1987 American animated musical comedy-drama film directed by Don Bluth and distributed by The Walt Disney Company.

It is based in the Scott Cawthon's original game with the same name.

The film tells the story of five animatronics (of a failing, low-budget pizzeria), who are capable of feeling human emotions, as they reflect on their past lives and look after each other as their pizzeria is soon-to-be shut down.

The film was a box office success, received critical acclaim, and won the Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy of 1987. Following it's success, it became known as a cult movie franchise with numerous well-received sequels under the same title.

Contents

Plot

Freddy Fazbear's Pizza was once a well-renowned family entertainment pizzeria, but is planned to be shut down after losing a numerous amount of customers (mainly due to superstition and records of incidents from the past) to the point where nobody comes anymore, by the end of the year. The main animatronics that inhabit the pizzeria consists of Freddy Fazbear (John Goodman), Bonnie the Bunny (Nathan Lane), Chica the Chicken (Loni Anderson), and Foxy the Pirate Fox (Burt Reynolds), who are programmed with artificial intelligence, capable of expressing human-like characteristics and emotions. The animatronics reflect on the past such as performing on stage for children like they use to during the daytime. Freddy even mentions the "Purple Man", a mass murderer and the one responsible for the "Missing Children Incident", and whom the animatronics had past conflicts with.

The animatronics watch after each other and take care of the pizzeria in the meantime. Foxy, a discontinued animatronic, has grown into a bitter and resentful state from being tricked by the "Purple Man" in the past and losing a friend (who is another animatronic from the year 1987). After several weeks, Foxy has never left his show stage (which he is separate from the main show stage) ever since Freddy told the story of reflecting on the past. Freddy and Bonnie attempt to get Foxy to come out of hiding in his show stage, but Foxy refuses to leave. Eventually, Chica talks Foxy into leaving his stage. She succeeds and offers pizza, which Foxy accepts.

A young man named Mike Schmidt (Steve Perry) starts his job working as a night watch security guard at Freddy Fazbear's Pizza. The first night he begins working, Mike notices the animatronics are capable of moving on their own, which scares him. Mike defends himself from Foxy and Freddy who try to greet him. The second night, Mike encounters Bonnie and Chica. They tell Mike that they're not dangerous and Mike can trust them, though, he still feels uncertain. On the third night, Mike is able to trust the animatronics and becomes friends with them. On the fourth night, Freddy tells Mike that they may seem happy, but deep down they're sad and desperate, as they miss the children that use to come to the pizzeria and can't forget about the horrible past events that they've experienced. Mike confesses he's one and the same with Freddy and his friends when it comes to his past experiences.

Meanwhile, a ghost animatronic bear, dubbed "Goldie" (Tony Jay) plans on murdering Mike as something about him makes Goldie feel extremely insecure. Goldie tries to take advantage of Foxy and asks for assistance. Foxy refuses to help, which results in Goldie attempting to harm Foxy. Foxy is able to escape from Goldie, but is unable to tell Mike that Goldie will kill him as his night shift is over. Foxy tells the others of what will happen.

On the fifth night, Mike arrives, but is unable to work his night shift as Bonnie, Chica, and Foxy jump in to protect him while Freddy stays alert. Goldie abruptly attack the group. Freddy is able to calm Goldie down, which results in Goldie realizing he's mistaken Mike for the "Purple Man". Goldie confesses to Freddy he is upset over witnessing the "Purple Man" killing a child from the past and not being able to do anything about it. As Freddy forgives Goldie, Freddy tells Goldie to not look back too far into the past as it will only hurt him more. Freddy also offers Goldie to come out of hiding in the dark. Goldie doesn't accept leaving the dark as he needs some time to think for himself. Goldie even tells himself that the purple shirt Mike wears made him experience horrible flashbacks.

Mike is able to continue his night shift as Freddy assures he is safe. Mike ends up getting fired on the first week of his job for tampering with the animatronics. The animatronics bid Mike farewell and promise him that they will never forget him.

One morning, Freddy, Bonnie, Chica, and Foxy sing together like they use to in the daytime.

Cast

Production

Taglines

From the director of "The Secret of NIMH" and "An American Tail", comes a musical adventure for kids and grown ups alike! - Theatrical Poster

Waiting is unbearable. - Freddy Fazbear's promo

An adventure so hare-raising! - Bonnie's promo

I'm not foxy, I'm "Foxy" - Foxy's promo

A film that's poultry in motion. - Chica's promo

Release

Five Nights at Freddy's held it's premiere at the El Capitan Theatre in Los Angeles, California on November 13th, 1987. The film was released in theaters across the nation on November 29, 1987. It was later re-released in theaters on February 14, 1990.

For a limited time in November 2017, Five Nights at Freddy's was once again re-released in theaters across the nation in honor of the film's 30th anniversary.

Soundtrack

Home Video

Five Nights at Freddy's was successful in home video sales, resulting in the film (and entire franchise) becoming a cult classic.

The home video release, on VHS format, was released on May 8, 1991, part of the "Walt Disney Classics" collection.

On September 5, 2006, the film was released as a 2-disc Special Edition DVD, including a sneak peek of Five Nights at Freddy's 2 and a theatrical trailer from the film.

The film was then released as a Blu-ray anniversary Edition for the 20th anniversary on November 10th, 2007. The Blu-ray release includes the making of Five Nights at Freddy's, storyboard comparison, and concept art.

Reception

The film was well-received during its premiere and opening week, and later achieved critical acclaim among audience and critics, praising the film for it's touching story, songs, characters, and visuals. The film holds a rating of 98% on Rotten Tomatoes based on 190 reviews, with an average rating of 9.7/10.

The site's consensus reads, "Stunning visuals, lovable characters, catchy songs, and every attention to detail of the animation, Five Nights at Freddy's is something special that will keep "kids and grown ups alike" entertained for years to come."

In 1999, a Spin-Off style movie was released, called FNAF World, which would feature the protagonists and antagonists of the first, second, third, and fourth film, making it a cross-over.

Finally, in 2000, Sister Location, the second spin-off and sixth film in the franchise, premiered in theaters.

Marketing

From the first film up to Sister Location, the Five Nights at Freddy's franchise became an iconic movie franchise, which even had the most popular trend at Hot Topic and other pop culture stores in the late 2000s.

The film franchise also gained popularity among Walt Disney Parks and Resorts. Collectible pins, rides, snacks, merchandise, as well as character meet-and-greets with the Fazbear Crew and the Toy Animatronics made their way to fame in the late 1990s.